Sounds of Spring

Piece Description:

Text: Li Yaoyao

I purchased 2500 farmed mosquitoes for four yuan each, or 10,000 yuan in total. At the beginning, my left hand held a cup containing mosquito larvae while my right hand distributed a golden foil to each audience member. This way, I invited audiences into a black space. The light illuminated the gold foil, and I encouraged the audience to toss them freely. I aimed to vigorously strike the foil at a certain moment of its fall. As a result, the foil crumpled audibly and scattered in the light before landing on the ground. Then the audience shifted into another extended space. I arranged the pre-prepared mosquitoes in a transparent box with a pile of white paper sheets inside. One of those papers bore the sentence, “Mosquitoes must be destroyed in the end.” On top of the pile was a child’s piano, then gently placing my hands on the keyboard, I waited for the mosquitoes. When a mosquito landed on the skin of my hand, I struck vigorously, causing the piano to emit a series of discontinuous tones. Finally, the lights went out, and we finished by playing an entire nursery rhyme.